


Sit Down and Shut Up

by Cryellow



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Best Friends to Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Drama, F/F, Foster homes, abusive history, adora gets injured, catradora, thats all imma say, theres some violence and stuff but im not going to spoil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:20:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22653907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cryellow/pseuds/Cryellow
Summary: The end of the semester is always a thing to celebrate- and for Adora Morrigan she had a lot more to celebrate, too. She was nearing the 2nd year anniversary of being adopted into the Morrigan household. Her sister, Glimmer, and her mother, Angella, were the best family Adora could hope for. So a late night party  filled with idiot high school nonsense? It was exactly the kind of celebration Adora was hoping for. But what happens when Adora sees an old friend- more like enemy now- and what happens when the party turns her world upside down? How will her family- and her friends- handle it? And more importantly, what will she do when her nemesis saves her?Catradora Modern AU!
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 113





	Sit Down and Shut Up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wombatking](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Wombatking).



> Oh. My. God. I have taken FOREVER to post this fic finally, but after dragging my ass for like a week I finally have it posted. (and of course after dragging my ass for 2 months to get this done). 
> 
> This fic idea isn't mine: it's totally property of @Wombatking on Tumblr. 
> 
> Now that I have that out of the way I wanted to talk a little. I MOVED OUT OF MY PARENTS HOUSE!!! AHHHH!!!! I'm so fucking happy about that. Literally over the moon. Anyway I have this amazing girlfriend and I'm still in college (and I have a lot of stuff on my Tumblr you can check out @cr-yellow). I haven't been posting like.... any fanfic....mainly cause I barely have the time between my job, college, and my home-life. But I'm trying. I'm getting there. I've also been writing a lot of original character work. I'm planning on putting out a book by the end of this year. That's my goal. 
> 
> I can't believe I actually finished this whole fic tbh I don't finish much but this one holds a special place in my heart! After hearing the background for this story I fell in love and dedicated part of my soul to making sure it was finished. It's also one of the longer fics I've ever done. Like point blank I don't write a lot of fic all at once with so many words. This was almost the length of a novella and I'm so shocked at myself but anyway. I won't give too many details about the story but it's a really good angsty Catradora fic with a lot of drama. 
> 
> I hope you like it, and I hope you have fun!

A tall blonde teenager walked in the center of a group of three. There were two other people beside her: a brown-skinned boy with a sharply cut afro and a shorter girl with poofy pink hair that seemed to be covered in glitter. 

“There’s no way Frosta did that,” the girl in the middle said, her head looking up at the large lake house in front of the trio. 

Adora referred to the blaze of bright lights and loud pop music that revolved around the house itself- the noise cascading for what seemed to be a mile in any direction. There was no possible way that Frosta, the freshman comic nerd with her head always in a book, could possibly have thrown such a wild and loud party. Nor, it seemed, was it possible that Frosta, who’s status around school was slim to none since she was so bossy and young, would have so many people going to the party. There was a line outside the door where it seemed that a large bouncer was letting people in based on a list in his hands. Better yet, to Adora’s amusement, was the fact that the house was filled to the brim with almost everyone from their high school, something that did not go unnoticed by Adora’s companions. 

“I’m not sure if you’re talking about the decorations or the people,” the boy, Bow, commented. He was dressed in a heart crop-top, tight-fitting jeans, and a pair of combat boots with hearts on them. He crossed his arms and looked over at the girl on Adora’s right, frowning. “What did you do Glimmer?” 

“I may…. Have texted everyone I know saying that there was going to be an awesome party,” Glimmer replied, shrugging her shoulders and looking up from her phone in her hands. 

“Seems like they got the text,” Adora commented dryly. She smoothed down her red dress as she walked in a nervous gesture. 

“Stop playing with it,” Glimmer said, affectionately. “It’s not the end of the world.” 

“You  _ know _ I don’t like dresses,” Adora pouted. Adora hated two things in life: dresses and cats. Both for very different reasons, both completely valid only to herself. She usually wouldn’t wear one- especially at parties, which were like her favorite activity, period- but she didn’t have a choice on this one. It was do or die. 

“If Mom catches us outside the house you know we’re toast.” Glimmer said simply. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Adora as the three finally made it to the line outside the door after walking up the dirt pathway. It was a good thing that Frosta’s family owned a lake house and an even better thing that it was right on the outskirts of the town line where no wandering parent could cross their path unknowingly. This end of the semester party was going off- literally and figuratively. 

Glimmer was right, of course. If Angella- Glimmer’s mother and Adora’s adopted mother- found out they had left to stay out on the night before her big awards ceremony, they would be two girls in big trouble. That’s why Adora was wearing a dress today: they placed a decoy Adora and Glimmer in their beds in their usual outfits and everything else Adora had at the moment was in the dirty laundry pile. 

“Well you look nice,” Bow said genuinely. “Are you wearing a dress to the ceremony tomorrow too?” 

“Hopefully not,” Adora said, cupping her hands to the heavens in a mock prayer. “Mom said the ceremony starts at 2 so I’ll probably have the time to dig through my closet and find something nice. If I have to wear another dress I think I’m going to vomit.” 

“Hey, that’s, like, one of my prettiest ones!” Glimmer said, her nose in her phone again. “Besides, I told you I was taking you shopping before Mom has us decorate the Hall.” 

“Ughhhhh,” Adora groaned as they made their way through the line. “I’d rather die.” 

“At least you’ll die in style.” 

It was finally their turn to walk up the steps and towards the bouncer. At the bottom of the line, near the front walkway, Adora could barely see the house. At the entrance, however, she could see just how magnificent it was. It was two stories of a fine bright yellow wood that looked like it was handcrafted. The house stood on the edge of a cliff- something Adora thought would be a bad plan for a house if weathering and erosion ever took a toll- right over the main body of Lake Bright Moon, the lake that circled the whole town like someone had circled Etheria on the map and said “That’s it!” 

If the lake view wasn’t enough, they had a little shed down by the water with canoes and a pier fit for a sailboat, should ever Frosta’s family ever get one. The best part of the house, hands-down in Adora’s opinion, was the wrap-around porch and the long balcony on the second floor overlooking the lake. What’s the point of having a wonderful view if you don’t stare at it every moment of your waking life? 

The house was lit up inside and out and moths crowded the many lanterns around the front door, which stood ajar. As people went in and out of the house their shadows danced in the light and Adora wondered if their shadows were having as much fun as they were. 

When the three approached the bouncer, Adora realized she knew who it was. “Rogelio?” 

The big guy in question looked up from the list in his hands and looked over at Adora with a smile. He was the line-backer for the football team- something he was immensely proud of seeing as he wore his jersey at every possible moment even out of games. Adora knew Rogelio because she was the captain of the soccer team, and also because they shared a group home when they were kids. Neither of them talked about it much, for very good reasons. Then again, neither of them talked much in general. 

“Is our name on the list,” Adora said with a cheesy grin, bouncing her eyebrows playfully. 

Rogelio nodded once with a small smile and gestured for the three of them to enter the doorway. 

The party itself was booming- the music was loud and drowning and there were red cups filled with oddly colored liquid everywhere. People were making out in several corners and talking in others. The house was 90% main living room, it seemed, since the room was massive and led directly to the wall of pure glass right next to the other side of the porch near the cliff. 

“Woah,” Bow said, elbowing Glimmer so she would look up. Her jaw dropped in awe as she looked around the room too. Before they could get run over by the next newcomers, the three high schoolers noticed a hand waving in their direction. It was Perfuma, a thin girl with tan skin, long wavy blonde hair, and the most freckles that could possibly be on a person. The three walked over to where a small group had formed of Perfuma, Frosta, their friend Mermista and her boyfriend Sea Hawk. 

None of these names were real, of course- except for Frosta. Her name, unfortunately, was real, which gave their friend group the most laughter. 

“What’s your name?” Bow had asked when they met Frosta for the first time. 

“Frosta.” It wouldn’t have been funny, except the girl had an incredibly icy tone, and joined their school in the middle of winter where snowflakes had caught on her clothes. She also had a fascination for superheroes with frost powers. Adora still believes it has to do with an elaborate game she’s playing that Adora hasn’t figured out yet. After their laughter had died, Glimmer was the first one to carry on the joke. 

“Hello  _ Frosta _ , this is-” it took her a second to make the name, but she pointed around their lunch table to the other girl who had a flower- scented perfume in her hand that she was spritzing on herself.”Perfum-a,” Glimmer then pointed to the girl who was cross stitching at the table “Spinnerell-a,” she pointed to her girlfriend, who sat beside her holding the netted sweater she was working on, “Netoss-a, and this is-” she pointed to the other girl with the fish-tail braid and the mermaid ear-cuff, “Mermist-a, and this is-” she finally pointed to the other boy at their table, who immediately sat up, put on leg on the table, and proudly belted out, “Sea Hawk!” 

It was all so ridiculous that they never really changed them and Adora forgot what their real names were. 

The three passed by Spinnerella and Netossa, who were making out in one of the corners and ignoring everyone, and went to the group happily. 

“Frosta, when you said you were throwing a killer party I honestly thought it was going to be, well, a serial killer theme-” Bow said, rubbing his neck. “This party is totally awesome!” 

“Expect only the best with me, Bow,” Frosta said dramatically, twirling in her white sundress. “Besides I got straight A’s this semester so my parents helped me out.” 

“And Rogelio?” Adora said, throwing up her eyebrow and pointing with her thumb over her shoulder. 

“He’s part of my character creation group on weekends when he doesn’t have football. He and Kyle said they’d help if they got to come.” 

“Kyle the football water guy is here?” Adora said, snickering. 

“He’s an honored guest,” Frosta said, pouting with her head up. 

“There are a lot of guests,” Perfuma agreed next to Frosta. “Half of my art class is here.” 

“Glimmer, like, why are you on your phone?” Mermista asked in her usual drab, almost sarcastic tone. 

“Yeah, everyone you’ve ever met is here,” Bow said confused, looking at her. 

“We definitely snuck out for this party in the first place, what could be so important-” Adora started. They all looked at Glimmer for a moment until she looked up from her phone and was surprised to see everyone looking at her. 

“What?” 

“Why are you on your phone?” Frosta said, intrigued. She always saw Glimmer as her role model- and in fact she was slowly pulling out her phone to play on it, to, if only subconsciously. 

“Oh,” Glimmer said sheepishly. “There’s this totally awesome Sparkle Sparkle Sunshine Concert that’s coming next weekend and Mom couldn’t get tickets because she was at a town meeting when they released and I was in exams- so I’m trying to register for this sweepstakes in order to get tickets.” 

“But why has it been taking you the whole time since we left home?” Adora pointed out. 

“I’ve made 58 new emails to register with.” 

“You’ve been making  _ emails _ ?” Adora said, flabbergasted. “Are you serious-” 

Before she could finish her sentence, a group was cheering over by the porch near the cliff. Frosta’s head immediately turned, as did the rest of their little crew, to watch what the commotion was about. They couldn’t get a good look, so Frosta was the first to walk forward and push her way through the circled crowd. 

One of the partygoers was throwing something out off of the cliff with reckless abandon and while this wouldn’t normally have mattered, there were a few people beside them watching as they threw it and taking turns trying to see who could throw the item the farthest. 

One item, in particular, was a decorated shell. When they saw Frosta appear, they immediately lowered their arm so as not to be throwing her possessions over the cliff.

Frosta, for her credit, laughed, went to the east side of the deck and grabbed a bucket. “You should try these instead!” 

Inside was a ton of rocks- some large, some small. They were all the perfect size for doing absolutely nothing with, and it was apparent that Frosta spent a lot of time throwing them over the edge. 

“I’ll do it!” Sea Hawk said, walking forward and taking a medium sized rock. The crowd watched as he made some circles with his arm (while Mermista slapped a hand to her face in agony) in mock preparation. He finally let it go and it soared over the edge arching perfectly- 

Right into the middle of the cliff and missing the water completely. Everyone groaned when they didn’t hear a splash. 

“Ha! I can do better than that,” Adora said confidently. She picked up a small rock from the bucket and went to the edge of the balcony. The air up here was crisp and cool- she could smell the water below her and how fresh and lively it was. The sun was setting over the horizon and it’s slow moving pace did not change just how beautiful the view was. 

She didn’t make a big show of it like Sea Hawk- she simply rubbed it a little in her hands, feeling the rough surface. With one smooth motion, she chucked it over her head and out as far as she possibly could. The rock flew for what seemed like miles before it landed with a successful (and pleasing)  _ splurrrsh _ into the water below. 

The crowd cheered and took their turn throwing rocks over the edge in a simple moment of pure human stupidity. It was careless and free- and so much fun. Adora went to throw another with a laugh when suddenly she stopped cold in her tracks. 

“Hey Adora.” 

It was her. It was Cat. Of course, the two went to school together, so it wasn’t that strange. It also shouldn’t have been that strange that she showed up to the end-of-the-semester party, but nonetheless Adora felt her heart jump in her throat. She lowered the rock she was holding and turned around, Bow and Glimmer (who were beside her) doing the same. 

“I see the Mayor’s brat is here with her boy-toy as well,” Cat said smoothly. 

Frosta turned around briefly and stopped what she was doing, giving Cat an icy glare. “You weren’t invited. You were  _ not _ on the list I gave to Rogelio.” 

Cat laughed haughtily and tossed her rowdy brown hair. She looked good: which sucked even more. She had a black leather jacket thrown over a dark red tank-top and a pair of black ripped jeans. She looked clean and taken care of which was a shock to Adora, mainly because the last thing she had heard, the other girl had gone to her 28th foster home. Seeing Cat always felt like a punch in the gut: painful and immediate. 

She had her nails immaculately done in sharp points, but she played with them anyway for the sake of the drama. “I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I heard on PrincPower that it was getting pretty amped up. Turns out you can’t trust everything you read on the Internet.” 

“I don’t know, it was pretty amped before you got here,” Glimmer threw casually back at her, folding her arms over her chest. Adora’s jaw clenched in defiance. PrincPower was like any social media platform: filled with “likes” and dislikes and all the drama that came with high school.

A nerve twitched on Cat’s forehead for a second and she dropped her hand. It was then that Adora realized she hadn’t come alone: she came with Lonnie (who looked as if she’d rather be anywhere else) as backup. “Well it looks like we’re giving the people a little show, so I’d say that’s better than… what were you doing again? Throwing rocks? Like cave people?” 

“You’d know something about that, wouldn’t you, Cat?” Glimmer said, laughing. “This is the first time you’ve looked moderately decent in months!” 

This made Cat turn an ugly shade, and Adora couldn’t blame her. Hopping between group homes and foster homes alike is never easy. Cat’s eyebrows went down angrily. She looked over at Adora with a sick pleasure. “Like hiding behind your girlfriend, Adora? Oh I’m sorry- _ sister _ . What’s it like having to  _ live _ with that sad sack of socially-obsessed nonsense?” 

It was like a knife to Adora’s gut. She hated anyone saying anything about Glimmer, but the idea that Adora  _ hid _ behind her? That was nasty. Of course Adora could have just put it down to Cat reaching for straws, but it was true. Adora had been hiding behind Glimmer- longer than just the conversation, even. Adora had been hiding behind Glimmer for some time.

The sun sunk lower over the horizon and bathed the party in a pale dusk. Adora could only see the fading colors of the sky as they turned a bright collage of rainbow.

This seemed like the perfect time to step up to Cat. In front of everyone. Finally show them what the star soccer player was made of. 

“I just don’t think you’re worth my time and effort,” Adora said simply. An “oooo” rose from the crowd as something behind Cat’s eyes shifted. It was both hungry and destroyed- a perfect mix for such a brutal comment. 

“Doesn’t seem like anything ever is,” Cat replied scathingly. “Nothing’s good enough for the perfect pretty princess, huh?” 

“What are you even doing here, Cat? Did you just come to talk shit or did you come here because you need the attention you aren’t getting at home?” 

“Oh I don’t need your attention, Adora,” Cat laughed lightly. “I just came here to see if you were going to crash and burn here like you’ve done at half the games this year.” 

This stoked a fire in Adora- she’d been trying her best, but some games you just can’t win no matter how hard you try. Her blood boiled beneath her skin. “Leave, Cat. I’m not telling you a second time.” 

“What are you going to do, throw me out yourself?” Cat started laughing, putting a hand on Lonnie’s shoulder to support herself as she doubled over. “Oh come on, Adora. We both know you don’t have the guts.” 

“Guts or not, you’re being here was just pick on people, and that’s stupid even for you,” Adora growled back, taking a few paces towards Cat’s direction and balling her fist. “I think everyone agrees with me that you shouldn’t be here.” 

Cat looked around to the mixed crowd for a moment and shrugged her shoulders. “Really, Adora? You’re the only one getting violent. You’re the only one putting up a fight. They don’t  _ really _ care. You’re alone. Alllllll alone, facing me, who’s clearly better than you. All I did was crash a party- but you? You want to  _ throw me out _ . Tell me how that’s supposed to be better?” 

Adora swallowed hard looking at Cat, her fists shaking a little. She  _ was _ getting violent. But it didn’t matter. Cat was the one that went to the party just to start drama- to get under Adora’s skin. And it had worked. Adora looked at Glimmer (who was angry, of course) and then at her companions. None of them really seemed to care that Cat was there. She wasn’t really hurting anyone by being there. 

That was, except Adora. She wasn’t taking it. Not at all. Frosta said Cat wasn’t on the list- so Adora was going to follow that code. She slammed her body forward, pinning Cat against the wall, Adora’s right arm holding the other girl in place across her chest. “I told you not to make me say it a second time.”

Cat looked feral under Adora: all wild eyes and vicious smile. “Don’t like having someone here who hates you, huh, Adora? Can’t stand that no one really cares?” 

“I do. I care,” Adora yelled out. The crowd that was having so much fun throwing rocks had been watching the two of them with an absentminded interest, but were now raptly listening and watching for what would happen next. 

“Adora let her go,” Frosta said bossily. “She’s not bothering anyone. She doesn’t matter.” 

Cat glanced at Frosta for a minute and then her smile grew wider- like the Grinch. “Yeah Adora. I’m not bothering anyone. Anyone of importance, anyway. Why don’t you just run along home- if you even call that Victorian dungeon a home-“ 

This was the final straw. Adora shoved Cat back against the wall- which was glass- and it shattered around the pair of them. There were several screams as the glass rained down all over the balcony. 

Adora finally took a few steps away from Cat, shaking off the glass that had pooled on her sleeves on her letterman jacket. Glimmer’s mouth was wide open in shock and Bow had flown half a mile back when the glass shattered. Frosta was angry and distraught- this much was seen from her hands clutched through her short blue hair. The rest of the partygoers all stared at the pair of them in surprise.

“I’m going for a walk.” Adora practically whispered it and went through the living room (full of people who stared at her), out past Rogelio (who looked like he had gotten too preoccupied with talking with Kyle to notice anyone enter), and out to the woods over on her right. Night had come while they had been fighting and now it was a dark blue still hovering before becoming the usual blackness. Adora’s sandals carried her through the woods at a swift pace. 

It was bad enough that she’d been fudging up her practices all semester: worse, still, to think that her friends might think the same thing that Cat does. That she isn’t good enough or trying hard enough. It simply wasn’t true. 

Besides this, the real reason she’s been messing up so many matches and practically failing all her classes kept haunting her. Cat didn’t help the situation since she of all people understood. It was Adora’s 2nd year anniversary of moving into the Morrigan’s house, away from living her life on the run and being in foster homes. One in particular still haunts Adora to this day- 

Adora stumbled as she walked herself almost right over a cliff. She ended up on the outskirts of the same one that Frosta’s house sat. Up here it was beautiful and not just because of the starry sky: the air was thin and crisp even on such a warm day. There were trees along the outskirts of the rest of the lake, and a smooth sandy beach that laid at the bottom of the cliff and was laid with dozens of seashells that had never been touched by human hands. The water frothed around where it touched the beach and waves made their way harshly against each other. It was the perfect day for a swim, which was just what Adora needed to clear her head. Nothing worked anymore. She couldn’t stop thinking about it all. 

Thankfully she was in her spandex and a sports bra under this particular dress or she would have never done it. She stripped off her sandals, jacket and her dress right there on the cliff, making sure she didn’t leave anything on her person she didn’t want wet. Then she slowly made her way to the edge, looked down into the dark waters she could barely see, poised her hands for a perfect dive, and dropped off of the cliff down to the water below. 

She had walked herself to a deeper part of the lake, which was fortunate since a fall to the shallow end at this height would have definitely killed her. She saw the water get bigger and bigger and closer and closer as she reached the fine lake spray that coated her face in a mist. 

In an instant- everything went black. 

~~~ 

Adora. That was the only girl on her mind at any time. Adora this, Adora that. Cat was sick of her own head. If for a second she could just get a break so she wouldn’t have to constantly feel bad about everything it would be a blessing. 

You would think after getting literally shoved into a glass wall that she would leave well enough alone, but Cat just wasn’t that type of person. This was the best time to get a rise out of someone- when they’re at their most vulnerable and angry. She couldn’t resist herself, especially now.

Lonnie hadn’t been her support, really, more like someone spare in case things went south. Always keep an extra, that’s the rule. She pushed past her now, ignoring the surprised looks from the guests around her and the petty arguments of the little blue-haired kid who’s window they seemingly just broke. 

She didn’t immediately follow Adora: that would have drawn too much attention, like she was going to attack her in the woods, which she might have done under any other circumstances but today she didn’t feel like it. Originally she went and stalked over by where a few cars were parked and looked inside to see if there was anything of value to steal. Her own eyes betrayed her, though, because soon she was watching Adora make her way down a long, dark path in the middle of the night, and knowing Adora the way she did, Cat knew she was going to get herself into trouble or something, somehow, and she’d be all alone, and then Cat wouldn’t have anyone to pin her misery on. 

So Cat did the logical thing and followed her at a distance, pouting to herself about how Adora always can walk away from their arguments seemingly unscathed while Cat took the brunt of the attacks and sometimes even the physical ones. Soon Cat watched as Adora almost walked herself over a cliff. Almost. For a moment Cat had her hand out, about to call out to Adora, but before she could Adora had caught herself and looked out over the cliff. For a moment Cat thought she would seriously just jump to her own death. After a few moments she would come to realize that wasn’t too far off. Adora stripped right there on the overhanging cliff shaded by a few trees, getting out of her socks and shoes right there, probably going for a swim. 

Cat grinned at the prospect that she had worked Adora up enough to where she needed to work out to calm down, but resisted the urge as she watched the other undress over a 10 foot drop at least, getting ready to dive into icy waters. 

Adora poised herself over the edge, cupped her hands together, and leapt over the side. Cat ran up after her to look over, for what she didn’t know. Maybe to see her perfect dive in the water? Maybe to watch her flop in the beach like an idiot fish and laugh? 

What she didn’t expect was for Adora to hit the water head first and float downward in the lake. 

Cat didn’t hesitate. She didn’t have the time. She dropped her phone (She would get murdered if she didn’t) and dove a little more east than Adora so that she wouldn’t hit her. When she hit the dark water, surfacing with a gasp and a splash, she saw why Adora didn’t make it. 

A giant, dark log floated in the water right underneath a drowning Adora. 

Cat knew it would have been easy to abandon her here. She knew Adora had done the same for her, once. But she didn’t. She couldn’t let her die. Cat grabbed the floating Adora and swam to the nearest shore,moving as fast as she could while bearing Adora’s weight. 

After a good few minutes they had made it, and Cat took the sopping wet Adora and flipped her onto her back. Cat had never taken a CPR lesson in her entire life. There was supposed to be some training in school, sure, but she didn’t pay attention. She was too busy building spitballs to hurl at a freshman to notice. She did, however, know a few movies. Pump the chest a few times and blow in the mouth. That’s all she needed to do. 

She pumped Adora’s cold, wet chest a few times and then put her mouth on the other girls and blew hard into it, trying to relieve any water that was there. Adora choked out some water, but didn’t open her eyes, to Cat’s dismay.

“Adora….fuck,” she said, looking up and down the beach. There were dozens of small rocks that had buried themselves in the sand- and what looked like a few small random items, like a pencil or two. Cat looked back down at the other girl and bit her lip. Adora had a nasty gash on her head that was pouring blood, and Cat shouldn’t be seen with her after such a nasty fight. She was getting sent to juvie again for sure- perhaps real prison if Adora died and they thought she did it. 

“You’re going to make it,” Cat said bitterly. She stood up and faced the house where the party roared on. 

“HELP! SOMEBODY HELP! HELP!” 

She then ran like there was no tomorrow, making sure her footprints didn’t give away too much of her position in the sand. She disappeared into the trees and went to her phone before anyone could notice her or the dying girl on the beach. 

~~~

It was a memory. Adora had to be swimming and seeing a memory. It was a sad one: one she’d been avoiding. 

Adora sat hunched next to a girl with frizzy brown hair. They were whispering to each other and making scared, nervous glances around a building corner, watching as a police car pulled into a convenience store parking lot. They were just barely teenagers and incredibly malnourished and tired. It was obvious they hadn’t been taken care of in a while, mainly because of the dirt that was coated on their faces. 

“What are we going to do Adora?!” Cat said desperately. They watched as the cops (two of them) got out of the car and practically ran into the store. “We have to get out of here!” 

“We have to go south on this street and then east on the next. That’ll put us right in front of the park where we can try to find a spot to hide better. They won’t go looking for us there if we act casual.” She looked at Cat, who was terrified. Adora put a hand on her shoulder and smiled warmly for a second, looking at her best friend. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect us.” 

Cat nodded and turned around to look at the store entrance again. The two cops came back out, wielding batons. In a matter of quick wit, Adora’s hand tightened on Cat’s shoulder. 

“We should split up and meet at the rendezvous point so they can’t catch us both. Just like we did with 7/11 the other day, got it?” 

“Okay,” Cat said hesitantly. “But Adora I don’t remember where we’re going too well and I don’t want to split up-“ 

Before she could finish her sentence, the cops were walking away from the store and out into the streets. They knew two teenage girls couldn’t have gone far on their own without stealing a car, and unfortunately neither Adora nor Cat knew how to hot wire one of those yet. 

Adora left without even saying goodbye, making her way swiftly through back alleys and streets with her arms full of the thing they were chasing her for: food. Neither Cat or Adora had eaten in days and it was getting to the point they would be risking death. Being fourteen meant you had to grow into your body and neither of theirs did much growing on an empty stomach anymore. 

Adora had been traveling for about 10 minutes before red and blue flashed at the mouth of the next alley she was headed towards. In a panic Adora altered her course, going slightly more west than she was hoping but going towards the park all the same. She couldn’t stop thinking about Cat and if she was okay. They would make it- of course they would, they had to- 

Adora walked swiftly through another alley and came out to a sight. Her worst fears were realized. It was Cat on the ground, handcuffed, with all of the food she had managed to steal in an array around her. Adora walked swiftly back, trying to get a good look and make sure Cat wasn’t hurt, but before she could even try to get a glimpse of the other girl, one of the police caught sight of her and started making their way over. 

“Shit!” She said out loud, dropping most of the food and sprinting away. She kept all but one Lil Debbie Chocolate Cupcake pack which she clung to for dear life. Part of her was screaming to go back and save Cat: another part knew that they’d both end up in trouble. If she was able to make it away from the cops, she’d be able to make a way to break Cat out of juvie. They were in it together. Always. That was the promise. 

She sprinted towards a rural area which indirectly lead her straight through the park. It seems that once the cops had most of the food back, they weren’t too pressed on chasing one teenage girl for too long when there are so many other people they could be chasing. Regardless, Adora was in an all out sprint towards a house. It looked old and abandoned and three stories at least. She’d be able to hide out in it until the cops died down for real and she could plan her next move (and eat her cupcake). She’d break Cat out. She would. She  _ had _ to. At least Cat would be getting 3 square meals until then. Adora, on the other hand, would have to struggle to survive, without a partner in crime this time. 

She hopped the little fence surrounding the house and bolted straight for a back door and not the front. Houses like that would definitely have an alarm or something, and she didn’t feel like giving the cops a free tip. She walked slowly around the house and jiggled the back door a little. It gave way just like that: opening for her like a welcome from an old friend. 

She snuck her way through the backdoor which lead to a hallway that showcased all the main rooms on this floor: the silvery kitchen laid with all manner of fancy gadgets, a small study area with a few bookshelves and a nice desk, a sitting room with uncomfortable looking furniture, a dining room with high back chairs and fine polished wood, and a staircase which no doubt led upstairs to the rest of the house. 

Adora slowly crept up the staircase, figuring that any cops would be able to see in the ground windows upon easy inspection. There were more rooms on this floor: three bedrooms, a nice bathroom, and a closed door she didn’t know what was behind. There was a little pull lever on the ceiling that meant there was probably an attic the size of the rest of the house where they put their stuff. She debated for a moment if she should go up or stay down, but before she could make a decision a tall woman with wavy pink hair stepped out of one of the bedrooms putting on a set of diamond earrings. 

“Glimmer, have you seen my-” She called in a soft British accent. Upon seeing a stranger in the house she stopped where she was and stepped back, gasping in shock. She was wearing a pair of tight pants and a shirt that flowed so it looked like she was wearing wings. She looked almost ethereal as one of the windows cast light through the fabric. “Glimmer… do you have a friend over?” 

Adora looked wide-eyed at the woman in fear, shaking a little. This was about to get ugly, and fast. 

“No, why?!” Glimmer called from her room, the one right next to where the other two girls were standing. 

“Glimmer, stay where your are and call the police,” the woman said firmly, walking swiftly in front of the other bedroom and shielding the door with her own body. 

“NO! No, please!” Adora begged. Her stomach gave a particularly nasty growl which only emphasized her ratty-ness even more. “They can’t find me. I have to help her!” 

“Help who? What are you doing in my house?” The woman replied. 

“Mom?!” Glimmer called, scared. “Mom, who is it?”

“My name is She-“ Adora cut herself off, about to name the gas station she had robbed. “Ra.” She finished lamely. 

“She-ra?” The other woman looked perplexed and stony all at once. She still had not moved from her place in front of the bedroom door. 

“Uh, yes,” Adora quickly recovered herself and looked panicked again, remembering what she was doing. “Please don’t call the police. My friend, Cat-“ she cut herself off again, “-Ra is in danger and I need to save her. I can’t do that if they find me.” 

“What did you do? Why are they after you and this… Catra?” The woman was quick witted and didn’t play around. Adora gulped and lowered her head. 

“We stole.” 

“Stole-?!” But then Adora’s stomach gave a nasty growl, this time loud enough to interrupt a conversation, and the other woman’s eyes saw the clutched cupcakes in her hand, and immediately softened a little. The intense brown eyes swept up and down Adora’s thin frame, taking in the sight of the malnourished teen. “You stole food.” 

Adora didn’t say anything, didn’t even nod, but the way she clutched the cupcakes (light enough not to ruin them but hard enough to be noticeable) said it all for her. 

“Mom, am I still calling the police??”

The woman hesitated for a moment and then decided on something. “No, dear.” 

“You aren’t going to call them?” Adora said, shocked. She couldn’t believe it would be that easy- nothing in her life had ever been. “You aren’t going to turn me in?” 

“I don’t think it should be a crime for children to eat,” the tall woman said taking a step in her direction. “If you’d like, I have something more substantial in the pantry that might be better than that cupcake.” 

“B-but my friend-” 

“Will be fine. Where is she? I have a car and can bring her here.” 

Adora clammed up the moment she saw this woman’s kindness. She wanted to bring Cat and her to a safe place and feed them. It was a little late for that, though, because of Cat’s current situation. 

“She’s, er-” 

“She was taken already wasn’t she,” the woman said sadly, folding her hands together. “She’s already with the police at this moment.” 

“I need to save her,” Adora whispered softly. “She’s all I have.” 

“We will,” the woman firmly nodded and walked towards the stairs. “For right now we’re going to get you something to eat so you don’t pass out. Glimmer,” she said the name louder, behind Adora, “come down once you’re dressed!” 

“I am,” Glimmer replied coming out from the room. She had a short pink dress on and poofy pink hair. Adora had the distinct impression she was made up of almost entirely cotton candy. “This is all Cat’s fault.” 

“What?” Adora said, furrowing her brows. 

“This is Cat’s fault.” the images were fading. She wasn’t hearing the Glimmer of the past- she was hearing the Glimmer of the present. “I know it is, it has to be. How  _ dare _ she-” 

Adora groaned. “Cat didn’t do it, I did-” 

“Adora!” Glimmer practically screamed out the name and Adora’s vision finally went back into place properly. She was laying on a cold beach, her whole body seemed to be ice cold. She was in her sports bra and spandex, laying face-up and staring at the glossy stars. Glimmer, still in her party wear, was looking down at her next to Bow. There were tears running down both of their faces as they looked at her. 

“Adora, thank God!” Glimmer held Adora’s face in her hands, her fingerless gloves rough on Adora’s skin. 

“I did this, not Cat, I promise-” Adora choked out. She tried to get up and stand but her body didn’t move. “I went for a swim to cool off and the next thing I know I’m here.” 

“Adora try not to move,” Bow said, scared. He had his arms over by her waist. “It’s going to be alright. The paramedics are coming.” 

“Wait why? I’m fine guys, really. I must have been so worked up I passed out,” she said trying to sit herself up again. She found that her limbs weren’t moving. “Guys?” 

“What?” Glimmer said, looking her up and down. 

“Am I on a stretcher?” 

“No, why?” Glimmer’s eyes got impossibly bigger, and Adora hadn’t seen her look this intensely at anything except her phone in a long time. “What is it?” 

“I- I can’t move-” Adora said, panicked. “I’m not sitting up. I’m trying to move but nothing’s working-” 

Glimmer looked down at Adora’s body and back at her and furrowed her brows. She quickly turned to someone behind her. “Where are they?!” 

“They’re almost on their way!” The sound of Perfuma flowed down to Adora’s spot alongside the lake. 

“Adora it’s going to be okay,” Glimmer said, turning back and crying. “It’s going to be okay.” 

Adora found that she could nod her head, but it hurt more than anything she’d ever experienced in her life, and she’s played a lot of nasty soccer games. 

“Stay awake, Adora!” Glimmer said, tapping the side of Adora’s head lightly, but there was nothing she could do. Adora’s vision was fading fast and she just saw the red lights overhead that meant the ambulance was coming before she blacked out completely. 

“It wasn’t Cat’s fault,” Adora mumbled.

~~

“Adora? Adora, honey,” the sound of her mother’s soft voice called like a siren into Adora’s sleep. She didn’t notice she was sleeping until she was close to consciousness. Funny how that happens, really. One moment she’s remembering the first time she met Angella. The next, shes… where was she? 

“I’m not mad dear,” her adopted mom continued softly. She had become so much more to her than just a stranger in a large house and a daughter she would do anything to protect. Now Adora had become one of those people to her- someone she’s time again fought for with everything she had. Glimmer, in turn, had become her best friend. “I was mad at first, but I know you’re all just teenagers going out. It’s nobody’s fault. You can wake up now, dear. Please wake up, Adora. Please.” 

Adora felt like she was reaching down a long hallway- her arm extended towards her mom’s voice trying to grab hold of it and never let it go. But she wasn’t actually reaching and she didn’t actually wake up. Her body was in quite a bit of pain- her head, too felt like it was on fire as if it would never burn out. She’d never experienced a soccer injury this bad meaning that this was the worst she’d ever felt, including the time she was in her old house. That House. She wanted to stay awake and talk with her mom- tell her she loved her and that she was sorry- but before she could, the darkness consumed her again. 

~~

A brief moment. That’s all it took. She knew that’s all she had. A brief moment of consciousness was all she needed. To see them, hear them. Anything. She was going to keep fighting for these moments if it meant that’s all she’d have for the rest of her miserable life. 

“She has some major head trauma that’s causing her to have some brain bleeding,” it was a woman Adora had never heard before, probably a doctor. “We’re prepping her for surgery now so we can reduce the swelling.”

“Surgery?!” The voices were hard to discern, but Adora was sure it was Glimmer’s. “Oh my god is she going to be okay?” 

“Right now we’ve done a few scans and found that the bleeding has pooled over by her brain stem- we call this the RAS or Reticular Activating System. It’s the reason she hasn’t woken up yet. The fall she took- we can’t be sure of why but we knew she took a fall- it caused her neck to, well we can only be for sure when she wakes up-” 

“You’re saying she hurt it?” Adora’s mom cut in, fiercely. “You’re saying all of this is because of the one injury?” 

“Yes Ma’am I am,” the doctor said soothingly. “But before I tell you anymore, since I can’t anyway, I need to take her in.” 

In to surgery. Under the knife. Adora was just turning 16 and she’s already getting her first surgery. RAS, huh? That’s why she couldn’t  _ really _ wake up so much as she could hear snippets. She fell on… a log. Yes, Adora was sure it was a dark, water-logged tree chunk floating in the icy water just below the surface. She couldn’t have seen it from the cliff, but she could see it on the way down. 

How did she get to the beach? She could only remember knocking out and then seeing Glimmer over her. It was strange, really, how major head trauma worked. There was a nagging feeling deep in her soul about something that happened on that beach. Something about the stretcher.

Before she could think too hard, a cold  _ something _ was going into her blood stream and she found the darkness consuming her once more. 

~~

This time when she awoke, she knew she was awake for real. She could feel her own eyelid shift for a moment as she gained consciousness. 

The surgery must have gone well, but for Adora’s credit she couldn’t really feel any different, probably with the number of drugs they were pumping through her system. She was just about ready to try and open her eyes to the bright lights that surrounded her, but something made her stop in her tracks. It was a voice, soft and scratchy. One she’d heard a thousand times. 

“Hey Adora,” Cat said softly. Despite herself Adora shifted her eyelid ever so slightly to see Cat. From the small sliver of what Adora could see, Cat was shifting nervously looking at the hospital room door, her hand in Adora’s, even though Adora couldn’t feel it’s warmth. “You’re finally allowed to have visitors and everyone went to get some lunch and take a break. Figures, those pansies would ditch you.” 

Adora felt the dread and the “oh really” building deep in her, just waiting to give Cat the business, when she noticed that Cat took a deep sigh. 

“I had to come see you. I, uh, I had to tell you the truth and hope you’re awake enough to hear it. I saw on a chart outside something about a head surgery. You know I don’t hope, but I’m sure it went well. All these fancy dressing doctors with their thousand dollar degrees better do one fucking thing right.” 

Cat looked down at Adora’s neck for a second and grimaced. “I followed you when you left the party. I don’t know if you knew that or not, or if you remember any of this at all, but for some reason I just… You have to know it wasn’t me. I didn’t push you off the cliff- the cops are going to try to make me say otherwise after our fight- but I never would have done that. I, uh-” 

She seemed like she was battling with saying something. Adora wasn’t sure what it was, but it was a real struggle for Cat to build up the courage, apparently. Before she could say anymore, though, there were other voices down the hall that sounded like Glimmer and their group of friends coming. 

“Shit,” she said, getting up abruptly and swiftly hiding in the shadows behind the door. 

“I hope she’s doing okay,” Perfuma cheerful voice carried as she walked in the room with the others. “I brought some flowers to brighten up her room.” 

The group- Glimmer leading with Bow beside her and Perfuma and Mermista taking up the rear- made their way to worn down seats and cabinets fit for leaning. 

“But like, why do we give flowers to people who are too sick to notice them?” Mermista said, throwing up a hand. 

“They’re lovely,” Glimmer said somberly. “She’ll love them when she sees them.” 

_ If she ever wakes up _ seemed to hang around them unspoken, like a palpable tension that Adora could cut with a knife. The flowers were pretty, Adora noted. A few carnations and bright colored flowers she wasn’t too familiar with. She watched Perfuma put them on her bedside table. 

Before they noticed her, Adora twitched her eyelids closed completely and waited for them to talk some more. Thankfully she was wide awake, so she knew she wouldn’t be succumbing to anymore sleep. Somehow she felt like she had slept enough for a lifetime. 

“Where did your mom go, Glimmer?” Bow asked softly. 

“She went to get some rest at home. A week without sleep isn’t good for her,” Glimmer replied. Adora heard the creak of the chair next to her bed and knew Glimmer had sat down in it. 

She had been asleep for  _ a week _ ?! How was that possible? She felt like she  _ just _ went for a swim and the cold seemed to still seep into her bones. What had she missed in the week? Where was Frosta? What was going on with her mom?

“Any news?” 

“Not much,” Glimmer replied to Bow almost as if they were hushed over- well, someone’s sickbed. Which, of course, they were. Adora fought the urge to wake up suddenly in a surprise attack and scare the crap out of the four of them. “The last update was that the surgery was successful. After my mom got the news she went home to get some real rest and a shower. She really wouldn’t have left her alone even for a second but I promised to take her place until then. I think this seat is so attuned to her presence now it’s still warm from her.” 

“What about Adora? What’s going on?” Perfuma asked. 

“I don’t think she’s awake yet,” Glimmer said. 

“Uh, yeah,” Mermista said sarcastically. “We all have eyes, Glimmer.” 

“I meant that… well my mom doesn’t want her to know when she wakes up immediately, but I think you guys should know.” 

“Know what?” Bow said in hushed tones. 

“She’d freak out, you see? She’d freak out for sure,” Glimmer was on the brink of tears now and hesitant. Adora could imagine her practically draped over the hospital bed, hunched and sad. It was all very dramatic in Adora’s opinion, and she doubted if any information they could possibly give her would be that bad. 

“Spit it out,” Perfuma said quietly. 

“Adora’s neck snapped when she hit the water. They aren’t really sure what she hit still, but it was bad. It…” Now she was full on crying, Adora could tell. “The doctors have been testing her motor skills and they don’t think she can feel anything at all.” 

“What are you saying,” Bow said, dread in his voice. 

“Adora’s most likely a quadriplegic,” Glimmer sobbed out. “She’ll never be able to play soccer or even use her hands.” 

The silence was palpable in the room. Adora wished she really had been asleep. She wished more than anything that she could go back now. Her eyes opened just a fraction. She tried to feel her hands and feet, tried to move anything, really, and nothing happened. Glimmer would have noticed. The only sensation Adora had was pins-and-needles, as if she had fallen asleep on something. Her spine, too, ached in a way that wasn’t natural. It made Adora want to barf, but somehow she remained silent. 

The dark shadow of Cat moved from behind the door and she escaped quietly out of the room, just enough so no one but Adora would notice.

“It…” Bow consoled, “It won’t be so bad, Glimmer. Loads of quadriplegic’s get the use of their arms and legs back.” 

“Yeah,” Perfuma said hopefully. “I read once that there was this guy who got the use of his legs back because a blood vessel regrew!”

“Adora’s a fighter,” Mermista said in her usual tone with a hint of sadness. “She’s not going to let some doctors tell her what she can or can’t do.” 

“Until then,” Glimmer faced the others drearily. “Until then, she can’t even dress herself. We’re lucky if she got out of the coma and now this? How am I supposed to go on without her?” 

“Well she’s not dead,” Bow replied simply. “She’s just… handicapped.” 

“Handicapped,” Glimmer said bitterly, taking a sigh. “Look you guys can’t say any of this. Mom was really strict that no one knew. She doesn’t want anyone to let it slip to Adora. It’s going to destroy her- she’s one of the most athletic people I’ve ever met.” 

“Rogelio gives her a run for her money,” Mermista pointed out. “But, duh, we won’t say anything. That’s Adora’s personal beeswax- not anyone else’s.” 

“Adora’s going to have a hard enough time as it is. She doesn’t need Cat going around making fun of her for this too,” Perfuma agreed. 

“Oh She’s going to rot in a cell for this,” Glimmer said viciously. “Adora smashes her against a glass wall and the next thing we know she’s laying half-dead on the beach?” 

“Are you saying that Cat did this?” Bow had a strong dash of disbelief in his voice. Adora was proud of him. She couldn’t really remember much- but she knew it wasn’t Cat. 

“I’m saying that Mom’s the mayor and given the evidence and the fact no one remembers seeing Cat after the incident? Not very good for her. I’d be surprised if they weren’t already out looking for her.”

_ Fuck _ . Fuck fuck fuck. It was all too much. They were gunning for Cat- blaming her for an injury she didn’t cause- that’s probably why she was so nervous with the door, and Adora- 

The information was too much for her to bear. She didn’t even want to believe it. Glimmer had to be messing with her- there was no way she wouldn’t be able to play Soccer again. It was her whole thingL being the star captain of the team, making daring fast plays, getting down and dirty at almost every practice. She was hoping to get a scholarship and play professional. She was hoping to be able to make her family proud. She was hoping for the glory of winning- of holding the trophies and saying “I’m the best.” There’s no way one accident could put a stop to that- put a stop to everything Adora had ever wanted her whole life. 

Adora didn’t “wake up” while the others stayed in her room. She pretended to be asleep for another 4 hours until her mom came in, telling Glimmer and the others (who by this point had started to play card games and change topics) to go home. 

Adora was most surprised at her own wrought iron grip on reality that she hadn’t burst into tears before now. It really would have been a sight if one moment Bow is winning a game of War and the next they’re watching the “unconscious” form of Adora sobbing on her bed. It was a wonder she didn’t do that when her mom came in. 

Angella was unique- more unique than any person Adora had seen. She was kind, of course, but in a way that was strong. She always did things that would support her family or her people- that is to say the town. She was on time and strict to a T. Adora was never late to class, or practice, or anything else that was set for them to do. Glimmer was used to her mother being this way and was the rebellious one of the two of them. She was constantly disobeying orders, trying to get Adora to follow suit (unfortunately most of the time Adora did). She back-talked her mom a lot, but Adora knew deep down she loved her unconditionally. Ever since her dad left, Glimmer only had Angella to lean on. And Adora had her too. They were like two support beams and Angella was the pole between them, holding them both up. 

Once Angella finally shooed her daughter and the other three away she was free to be at Adora’s bedside as long as she wanted. Adora heard footsteps approach and then stop on the left side of the bed. There was a soft  _ pat _ as her mother sat down in the hospital chair and (presumably) held her hand. Without any warning, the soft sounds of a body racked with sobs came from beside Adora. 

Something shattered in her. She couldn’t let her mom go on thinking that she was dying- that she was anything less than she was before this accident. 

Adora made a big show of it- she groaned softly at first but then got bigger. She couldn't bare to see her mom this distraught, and she certainly couldn’t see her so sad. She fluttered her eyes open dramatically and Angella stopped her crying to look up at her daughter. 

“M-mom?” Adora said weakly.

“ _ Adora! _ ” Her mom said, throwing herself forward onto Adora’s chest. Adora found it hard to breath (for some reason it was harder to breath than normal) but it was extra hard to breath with the weight of her mother leaning on her. 

“Mom you’re crushing me,” Adora commented. 

Angella sat up and wiped her hands under her eyes to clear away the fresh tears that were forming there. “Adora I’m so glad you’re awake-” 

“Mom what- what happened? Where am I?” Adora blinked and feigned stupidity. “Is this-?” 

“You’re in the hospital, baby,” her mom said, laughing and crying at the same time. “There was an accident.” 

Adora finally took a good, open-eyed look at her hospital room. It had a khaki color on the walls with white accents around the windows. There were long draping curtains that were pulled back over the busy town below that seemed teeming with life. There was a small TV above some cabinets which looked mainly untouched and her bed was nice and made over her body like someone had just fixed it. Her mom looked ragged- her usual pink hair (she and Glimmer have a dying party and go ham with pink dye once a month) was greasy and unkempt. Her eyes had dark circles under them like she hadn’t been sleeping well at all and her face looked a little thinner than Adora remembered it was, although it looked like a bright light shone behind her face as she looked at her daughter. Her mom was not wearing her usual business-casual dress, but instead a simple sundress (which lead Adora to believe she had pulled anything random from the laundry bin and ran with it).

“M-mom? How long- how long was I out?” Adora did not move too much, but she wouldn’t have been able too even if she had tried. Angella placed both hands on Adora’s shoulders and looked into her eyes fondly. 

“It’s all going to be okay, darling. I’m going to get the doctor and then we’ll explain as best as we can. Don’t move until I come back, okay?” 

Adora nodded her head as her mother left the room, wiping the tears from her eyes, the biggest smile Adora had ever seen on her face. 

Despite herself, Adora tried to move her arms and legs, but the only thing that moved was her throat. She panicked internally, trying desperately to move something- anything at all. Nothing happened. 

It was real, then. Adora couldn’t move. She was- what was the word? A Quadriplegic? But in her heart Adora knew she couldn’t act this way. Her mother needed her to be strong: now more than ever. Her family was deeply distraught by this and Adora knew it. She had to lift their spirits, even if it meant lying so blatantly to them. 

Her mom came back with a tall woman with dark hair and kind eyes. As Angella went back to her place beside Adora, she grabbed her phone and started rapidly texting. Adora blinked, looking around the room, the bright lights, and the doctor, who seemed to be looking at her vital signs. 

“Hello, Adora,” the woman began in a methodical, calming voice. “I’m Doctor Hope. It’s nice to see you finally awake! You had us all pretty worried there.” 

“Why am I in the hospital? What happened?” She looked between her mother (who had put her phone down) and Dr. Hope. 

“Can you tell me what you remember?” The doctor replied instead, grabbing a flashlight and testing Adora’s eyes. She also pressed the button to make Adora’s bed move upward to a sitting position. “Anything you can remember before you were asleep.” 

“Uh,” Adora said, racking her brain. A party. A fight. A dive. A log? 

“I remember sneaking out.” she said guiltily. “I remember going to a party with Glimmer.” 

She couldn’t say what else she remembered: how she got in a fight with Cat and got so angry she had to go cool off some steam. She definitely didn’t say that she somehow had a nosedive off a ten-feet cliff because she honestly couldn’t remember anything but that, and it painted Cat in a way Adora didn’t want. After all the fights Cat and her had been through- after everything- she wouldn’t let her go down for something she didn’t do. 

“You don’t remember anything else?” Dr. Hope asked insistently, trying to pick her brain as much as possible. 

“I remember I met up with some of my friends-” Adora started to say, but was cut off by a banshee screech (that Adora swore broke glass) and her sister pelting her on the bed. 

“Adora!!!” Glimmer screamed. She seemed to be out of breath as if she had sprinted there, and Bow walked swiftly in behind her. “Oh my god I’m so happy you’re awake!!” 

The doctor stood back with a smile and let them talk with Adora for a moment. 

“I’m fine, Glimmer, seriously,” Adora said, laughing a little as her sister held her just as hard as their mom did. “I just.. Don’t know what’s going on.” 

Glimmer got off of Adora and stepped behind the chair where their mom sat, who had her hand on her chest in an uncomfortable way. Adora looked over at Dr. Hope with furrowed brows. 

“Adora, is it okay if I do a few tests with your family here?” She said, looking pointedly at the others. “It’s okay if you just want it to be your mom and I.” 

“I’m okay with Glimmer and Bow being here,” Adora said calmly. “Will these tests tell me… more? How did I really end up here?” 

“Er, well,” Glimmer hesitated, sharing a look with Angella who quelled her before she could finish her sentence. Angella turned, instead, back to her daughter. 

“Adora, sweetie there was a party, yes, but you seem to have taken a fall. It was a pretty nasty one.” 

“A… fall?” Adora prompted, waiting for her mom to finish. She felt the dread in her soul as she knew what was coming- knew what these tests would mean for her and her family. 

“You hit your head pretty bad,” Dr. Hope supplied, grabbing Adora’s right arm with both of her’s. She had pretty green eyes, Adora noted, and she looked like she would have soft hands. “Can you feel it when I do this?” 

The doctor tapped lightly all along the inside of her wrist up to the elbow. Nothing. Adora couldn’t feel a thing. A wave of panic swooped through her, but she swallowed it before it could surface. 

“No- no I can’t.” She tried not to sound meek, but it was difficult when all you wanted to do was scream. 

The others in the room seemed to be holding their breath as they watched Dr. Hope and Adora. It was as if there was a sickening play happening, and they were the main cast, waiting to show the next terrible part of the event. 

Dr. Hope smacked down hard onto Adora’s arm a few times, to Angella’s shock, and then looked at her inquisitively. 

“I- I can’t feel it,” Adora gulped and played dumb. “Why can’t I feel it?! What’s going on?” 

“Adora, baby, calm down,” her mother soothed, leaning forward and laying the back of her hand softly on Adora’s cheek. 

The doctor did a few more tests with each of Adora’s limbs, and then nodded to herself before standing at the foot of Adora’s bed. 

“I’d like to give Adora the full story if that’s alright, Ms. Morrigan,” Dr. Hope said. Adora’s mother made a visible gulp and shifted in her seat, but looked Adora in the eyes and nodded. 

“She needs to know.” 

“Know what?!” Adora practically begged. 

“Miss Morrigan,” Dr. Hope said, addressing Adora this time. “When you arrived at the hospital you had some serious head trauma and a broken neck.” 

Adora knew she could feel the blood draining from her face despite the fact she had already heard this information. She knew she didn’t have a choice to react, hearing this from a professional. This wasn’t some sick joke. It was real. Everything she heard while she was asleep was real. 

“We’ve done several x-rays and CAT-scans. They help us look at what parts of your body are affected based on the trauma that has been inflicted. When your neck broke, it damaged your C4-C5 vertebrae connection. This… is not easy to tell you, but you’re a parapalegic. I do not think you have anymore control over your arms and legs. On top of this, you suffered major head trauma from your nasty fall that forced us to operate. The part of your brain that controls muscle function was altered when your neck snapped and we had to alleviate the pressure while you were in the coma. I know this is a lot to process,” she continued. “But I want you to know that this ward in particular has served many with this particular ailment. Dozens are able to walk out of here completely fine, while others are able to control their arms like usual, and some can’t leave on their own. Your case is particular, Adora is complicated. Because of the head trauma you’ve had as well as the spinal injury, well, I’m not sure.” 

“You’re saying,” Adora said quietly. “You’re saying…” 

The room was quiet, waiting while Adora processed the dangerous new (not really) information. 

“You’re saying there’s Hope,” Adora repeated, swallowing. “You’re saying I could even walk out of here completely fine.” 

The idea that this went over relatively well was apparently a big relief to those in the room around Adora. Bow visibly sighed while Glimmer smiled a little in a bittersweet way. Her mom, though, was not comforted very much except that her eyes did not quite look so sharp and tense. 

Dr. Hope smiled at Adora and nodded her head. “I have not seen many that can hear that conversation and pick out that piece. But yes, with the proper treatment you can walk out of here having only the stitches from your surgery.” 

“What treatments?” Adora said immediately. “What do I have to do?” 

“Well bed rest is what we’re prescribing for now,” Dr. Hope said sadly. “Although we’ll hopefully be able to start you in some physical therapy by the end of the week.” 

“I can do it,” Adora said confidently. “I’ll walk out of here.” 

Angella started crying again, but this time it seemed to be happy tears. 

“Keep that attitude, Adora. That’s the most important thing you can have.” And with that, Dr. Hope left the family to catch Adora up on the last two weeks that she’d missed. 

~~

“You heard her.” 

Two police officers wearing dark blue uniforms sat across from a teenage girl and an adult woman, who was bigger and stronger than the people in front of her. Cat was trying not to be angry and rebellious in front of the two adults who could easily cart her off to jail, but it was getting more difficult by the minute. 

A half hour ago she was watching TV when suddenly there was a knock on the door, to which her foster parent, Scorpia, answered. She was a tall woman with strong shoulders and arms that she used to tackle people at her wrestling job. Her real name was Carrie but they called her “Scorpia” because she was the scorpian in the ring- taking down opponents swiftly and silently from behind. Cat loved to call her Scorpia in everyday life because it made her sound cooler. When she opened the door she was stiff as a board. “Can I help you?” 

“Is this the current residence of Cat Pearson?”

Cat’s head turned from her place on the couch and her shoulders got stiff too, looking over at the door in anticipation. 

“Yes it is,” Scorpia said carefully. “What business do you have with her?” 

“We’d like to ask her a few questions about an incident that happened at a party. May we come in?” 

“Do you have a warrant?” Scopria was sharp as her name, making body language to shield the cops from entering their little hovel. 

“We could come back with one, but we’re more interested in talking with Miss Pearson than we are searching the house. We’d rather take her to the station if she can’t speak here.” 

Scorpia hesitated but then nodded slightly and moved to the side, letting the two officers- one woman and one man- enter their small home. Small is what Cat called it because she’d been to a lot of places and none of them were quite as tiny as their house. There were just the two bedrooms upstairs with a bathroom between them, and downstairs there was just the living room, the dining room adjacent, and the kitchen at the back corner. There was another separate room that in any other house would have probably been a type of office or spare bedroom, but in Scopia’s house it was an in-home gym. Cat’d been having a lot of fun in there in her free time. 

Upon seeing the police, Cat straightened her back and put on a sneer. She hadn’t done anything. That’s all she was going to say and they could deal with it. 

A half hour later they had asked her details about everything that night- what happened, where she went, who she was with, really it was a monotonous list to Cat. The last question, though, put Cat and Scorpia on edge. 

“No, I didn’t push Adora over the edge,” Cat repeated, her hands tight together. 

“You don’t need to repeat it,” Scorpia defended, putting an arm on her softly. “Cat’s had her share of fights, but it seemed like Adora was the one getting violent. Cat wouldn’t go after Adora.” 

“We just have to ask, ma’am,” the male officer said, holding up a hand. “We’re trying to get to the bottom of how she got injured.” 

“She fell,” Cat said through gritted teeth. “What more do you want from me?” 

“Well,” the female officer said, pointing out quietly, “no one saw you after the party-” 

“If someone slams you against a glass wall, you’re not going to be staying long either!”

“And then Adora had her fall shortly after that. All of our evidence points to you being the culprit, Miss.” 

“Well, I’m not. And if that’s all you have to say, I’m bored with this conversation.” 

“You cannot speak to an officer of the law that way!” the male office said angrily, getting up out of his chair. 

“Actually,” Scorpia said with thinly veiled calm. “I think she’s right. You’ve asked your questions and gotten your answers. Take her into your station if you feel like it isn’t enough- but know that I have a  _ very _ good lawyer who you’ll absolutely be hearing from if she is.” 

The police officers hesitated and seemed to collect themselves. The woman stood up, too, and dusted off her uniform. “Thank you for your time.” 

Scorpia showed them out with a stern look, shutting the door a little harder than anticipated when they left. In an instant her whole demeanor changed- she sprinted up to Cat and touched her face lightly. 

“Are you okay? Oh my god Cat you were so tough I’m so proud-” 

“Hey!” Cat said, batting away the hand indignantly. “I’m fine. I’ve had to deal with worse before.” 

“What happened?” Scorpia sat down at the table, looking at Cat. “You know you can tell me everything, I’m not going to rat on you-” 

“What makes you think I wasn’t being truthful to them?” Cat replied harshly. 

“There was something you were hiding. I could feel it.” Scopria said softly. “You kept tapping your foot under the table like you were nervous about something.” 

Cat looked at Scorpia with the same stern look for a moment and then seemed to deflate. “I did follow her after the party.” 

“Oh Cat,” Scorpia said sadly. 

“It’s not what you think. I just went to make sure she was okay. We don’t get in fights like that and I knew I overstepped some boundary of her’s or something. Everything about the party was true- we got in a fight and stuff and I crashed it-” Cat said this all completely without shame, even though she didn’t have elicit permission to be there from Scorpia, but she didn’t seem to mind so Cat kept going. “And afterwards I was just trying to make sure she didn’t do anything stupid like, well, I don’t know-” 

Cat looked at Scorpia, who didn’t say anything, silently begging her to keep going. 

“Well Adora likes to work out when she’s frustrated, she has since we were kids, and she was going to go out for a swim-” 

“You saw her?” Scorpia said sharply. 

“I didn’t do it!” Cat bristled. “I just saw her go for a dive. The next thing I know she’s face-down in the water. So I dived in after her-” 

“You  _ what _ ?!” Scorpia said angrily. “Oh my god Cat you could have died!” 

“ _ She _ could have died, Scorpia! She wasn’t moving and I didn’t stop to think I just fucking pelted myself over the edge and then I pulled her onto the beach- this girls house was huge I swear it- and she wasn’t  _ breathing _ so I tried to do CPR like in the movies and it worked out okay somehow-” 

At this point Cat was talking swiftly and stressfully. She knew it must have been obvious to Scorpia that she’d been distressed about this for a long time, but she didn’t care anymore. She had to let it go. 

“And then I called for help- screamed, really-and I had to get out of there because I knew the cops would take me in automatically because we’d fought like moments before, so I just… I ran.” 

And at this, Cat started crying. It wasn’t really that she was afraid of the cops- they could kiss her fanny for all she cared- but this was about Adora. 

“Scorpia she could have died on the beach and I didn’t wait until help came I just assumed that it would.” Tears were falling off of her face in droves now without her stopping them. She was so tired of being tough all the time. It got exhausting, even if it was the only way she knew how to be. 

Scorpia scooted her chair next to Cat’s and pulled her body into a tight hug, putting Cat’s head on her shoulder. It was a type of hug Cat hadn’t really ever had before. She didn’t know if she liked it or hated it. After a few seconds she went slack against Scorpia as she kept talking. 

“I went to visit her in the hospital after I heard a rumor she’d been in a coma and they had to do  _ brain _ surgery. She was still asleep when I went in but I swear I saw her twitch. Her stupid friends came in and I hid over by the door where no one could see me and that’s when the one with the pink hair told them that Adora-” 

At this part Cat started hyperventilating uncontrollably on Scorpia’s shoulder. “Adora’s a parapalegic now! And it has to be all my fault- I shouldn’t have fought with her- I shouldn’t have let her take that dive when I was right there-!” 

Scorpia brushed Cat’s head and separated them so she could look the other girl in the eyes. 

“Cat. You didn’t do anything wrong. You  _ saved _ Adora. You saved her. She made her choices. She’s the one that dove over, right? You called for help when she needed it. It’s okay.” 

But Cat didn’t  _ feel _ okay. None of it was okay. Not until she heard it from Adora herself. She made a mental note to see Adora as soon as possible tomorrow- even if it meant getting up early or sneaking out. She had to know the truth. 

~~ 

Adora felt numb. Not just her limbs, which hummed and prickled like they had all fallen asleep, but her head was not the greatest at the moment.  _ Mentally _ she felt numb, which made it so much worse. 

Following the party and her subsequent 12 day coma, the world seemed to go on without her. Frosta got in major trouble for having the end-of-semester party get so out of hand and Angella, of course, had been furious at first with Glimmer and Adora for sneaking out. 

“You should have seen her,” Glimmer said lively, motioning with her hands. “I swear she would have put  _ me _ in a coma if I hadn’t been so worked up about you.” 

Bow, it seemed, wasn’t really facing any punishment from his two dads because they understood how much Adora means to him. 

“They’re going to punish me first thing when I tell them you’re awake and okay,” Bow said miserably. 

Perfuma, Mermista, and Sea Hawk were normal as usual, if a little somber at the loss of Adora. Angella missed her awards ceremony, which was sad, but they postponed it for her that way she could take care of her daughter. There was just one missing piece that Adora didn’t feel right about. 

“And Cat? What’s going on with her?” Adora asked. Her mom had taken a breather to go call a few people and let them know Adora was okay. Glimmer and Bow were sitting halfway on her hospital bed, careful not to lay on her legs at all. 

Glimmer’s eyebrows went down immediately. “Mom said the cops were visiting her house sometime earlier this morning, so hopefully she confessed to the horrible thing she did to you-” 

“But she didn’t do it.” Adora said simply. “She didn’t do anything.” 

“What?” Glimmer said, surprised. “What do you mean she didn’t do anything? Adora one minute you’re getting in fights with her and then you’re face-down in the lake.” 

“I was going to go for a swim,” Adora explained. “And then I blacked out. I was the one to jump off the cliff.” 

“She still worked you up,” Glimmer pointed out harshly despite this new information. “If you weren’t so mad about it you wouldn’t have gone for a swim at all-” 

“Glimmer,” Bow said, putting a hand on her arm lightly. 

“She isn’t who you should blame for me being paralyzed,” Adora said quietly. “I am.” 

Glimmer’s anger was right at the surface, though, and before she could speak anymore she left the room practically stomping. 

“You should probably go after her since I can’t,” Adora commented dully. “Tell her we can talk more about it when she’s a little more calm.” 

Bow nodded and started to walk out of the door. Before he completely left, he hesitated, looking at Adora. “She- uh, well, we were all really messed up about you being in the coma, Adora. Having Cat to be mad at was easy for her to deal with. You know how she is.” 

Adora sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I do. Glimmer’s hated Cat since the moment she went to juvie.” 

“Glimmer takes it as her personal responsibility as your sister to stand up for you, because she’s never really had one of those before. Cat just… rubs her the wrong way.” 

“Me too, sometimes,” Adora agreed. “Now please go follow my sister?” 

And with that Bow left to go calm down Glimmer, who was probably worse for wear right now. Adora bided her time by looking at the television, which they had turned on for her to a bright cartoon about fighting cats. Adora snorted to herself at the irony of it all. She was watching it for a good few minutes before a knock on the door shook her out of her stupor. 

“Come in,” Adora called. She couldn’t turn off the TV even though she tried her hardest to move her limbs to do so. 

From the corner of the room with the door walked in Cat, all scraggly hair and bright different-color eyes. She looked nervous, looking at Adora, which is something she wasn’t accustomed to. Cat? Nervous? Funny. 

“Uh- Hi,” Cat said awkwardly. She had something behind her back and she seemed to be avoiding as much eye contact as possible. 

“Hi, Cat.” Adora said neutrally. “I didn’t expect you to come see me.” 

“I didn’t either,” Cat replied truthfully. “But, er-” 

Adora didn’t say anything, just looking at Cat for a moment in mild interest, waiting for her to speak. 

“I found your jacket. After, uh, this,” she said gesturing to Adora’s body, “happened. Here.” 

She brought it over and placed it on the chair next to Adora’s bed, still avoiding eye contact. 

“I’ll probably just go, then,” Cat said, making her way to the door swiftly. 

“Wait!” Adora called. “You should stay. We should… talk.” 

“Talk,” Cat said reproachfully, walking up to the bed nonetheless. “Talk about what?” 

“I’m sorry that they think you pushed me off,” Adora apologized. “I know you didn’t do it because, well, I was the one to dive over.” 

There was something that shifted behind Cat’s eyes that Adora couldn’t quite be sure what it was. It had been a long time since she was close enough socially to pick up on her body language queues. 

“I hope you’re okay,” Adora said. 

“Okay?” Cat said roughly. She shoved her hands in the pockets of her ripped jeans in a mean sort of way. “Okay about  _ what _ ?” 

“I mean, okay after the cops visited you,” Adora clarified. “Okay after our fight.” 

“No I’m not  _ okay _ ,” Cat said scathingly. “I’m not okay at all. I’m minding my business and the cops show up at my house and, of course! It’s about you, why wouldn’t it be, Adora? They question me for all of about 45 minutes in my own home and try to get me to admit something I didn’t do. So no I’m not  _ okay _ .” 

“Well,” Adora gulped and looked away awkwardly. “I’m sorry, then.” 

“You should be,” Cat walked towards the door once more. “I’m tired of cleaning up your messes, Adora.” 

“What do you mean by that? How could you possibly clean up this mess? It was all me, Cat!” 

But there it was again. There was something that shifted behind Cat’s eyes, like she knew something Adora didn’t. Like she was hiding it from her. Cat stopped in her tracks again and turned towards Adora. 

“It is all you, Adora. This whole fiasco is your’s in the making.” 

That hit Adora somewhere she didn’t like. A swooping feeling in her chest pushed her forward in the conversation. It was funny, really. She was half-sitting up in a hospital bed, surrounded by white lights and monitors and tubes of all sorts. She had a rough blanket on her legs she couldn’t feel, and she was arguing with Cat like everything was normal. 

“Why… Why can’t we just go back, Cat? Why can’t we be friends again?” Adora pleaded out. “Why do you always have to make me feel like shit?” 

“Well good to know I make you feel  _ something,”  _ Cat said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. 

“I mean it,” Adora insisted. 

“Mean what?” Cat looked over at Adora, her posture slanted sarcastically by the door. 

“Why can’t we be friends again? What  _ happened _ to us? You were my best friend,” Adora said quietly. “You were my only friend.” 

“Now you have Sparkles for that, huh?” Cat remarked. “Just can’t stand that someone doesn’t like you, Adora, or are you feeling nostalgic?” 

“I feel like I almost died and the one person who saw me last with all four limbs working is giving me hell, like always, when all I want to know is why? Why are you always so mean, Cat? Why do you have to try and humiliate me everywhere we go?” 

“You know why,” Cat said, scoffing. “Or have you forgotten? Did you black out that part of your sweet memories?” 

“I wouldn’t black it out.” Adora almost whispered the words. 

“What was that?” Cat said, taking a dramatic hand to her ear. “I couldn’t hear you?” 

“I wouldn’t black it out,” Adora said louder and more aggressive. “I didn’t black out a thing. I just want to know why you’re treating me like shit.” 

“Because I  _ always _ feel like shit, and I’m giving you a taste of that  _ sweet _ pie,” Cat said without abandon. It was like a damn broke inside of her behind the cool facade she had. Adora had finally whittled down the layers of Cat’s sarcasm. “And we can’t go back to being friends because you were the  _ one _ person I cared about more than anyone else, Adora, and you  _ abandoned _ me. Because I spent 12 months in juvie for a crime we both committed and you ended up in some perfect family. I’m not going to stop being mad at you just because you’re indisposed. This is payment for your sins and I’m the bill collector.” 

Adora sat there, stunned, looking at Cat as if she was seeing her for the first time. They were both silent for a bit, Cat inching her way toward leaving, when suddenly Adora didn’t want her to go. She didn’t want Cat to leave before she could really explain herself. 

“I never abandoned you.”

A brief silence before-

“What?” 

“I never abandoned you.” 

“Yeah, you did,” Cat said looking her in the eyes and lowering her brows angrily. “I saw you running away from me on the ground and I heard your share of the food hit the asphalt in the alley nearby. How the hell is that not abandoning me?” 

“Because I was going to bust you out. I was going to help you escape the minute I saw you were caught,” Adora said, swallowing hard. 

“Oh so that’s not abandoning me? You  _ thought _ about helping me escape, how noble-” 

“We were 14 and we hadn’t eaten in 4 days. I didn’t have a better plan except get away so at least  _ one _ of us could get you out.” 

“Well you didn’t, so-” 

“I ran into a house that day.” 

“And?” Cat was getting more agile by the minute, shifting her legs restlessly and taking a sharp tone with her words. 

“That was the day that I met Mom and Glimmer.” Adora explained bittersweetly. 

“Yeah, see that’s the thing. How can you even call her ‘Mom’? She’s not your  _ Mother _ . She’s just some woman who saw a 15 year old girl and thought it would make good press.” 

“She tried to get you out of it completely,” Adora continued slowly. There was a part of this she didn’t want to tell Cat. She couldn’t. Not without hurting her even more. “I told her about our situation that first day. She tried everything she could. She was pouring over books for weeks.” 

“See that’s the thing, Adora, how did you escape arrest while I went to jail?!” Cat’s eyes flashed dangerously at Adora, really letting all of the pent up energy ball out into one big ragefest. 

“Mom- Angella- she-” Adora swallowed and looked away, ashamed. “She told the court about our situation and they were willing to be lenient, even with you, but-” 

“But?!” Cat urged viciously. 

“But you resisted arrest. You tried to run several times when you were taken-”Adora tried to lie to no avail. 

“Oh that’s a load of bull!” Cat started to yell now in the middle of the hospital. “What was it  _ really _ Adora? Your  _ mom  _ bail you out somehow? Was there a line in the books fit for a pretty little blonde?” 

“They didn’t think you had a future!” Adora burst out despite herself. “I convinced them that I had ideals for my future and that I wouldn’t steal again, but they thought you would.” 

“It was  _ your _ idea in the first place!” Cat said angrily and desperately, blinking her eyes swiftly. “I wouldn’t have even done it if it wasn’t for you.” 

Adora swallowed and looked Cat in the eyes sadly. The truth was that Adora ended up having a bright future- she was pretty sure even when talking to the court, Angella must have told them about her plans to adopt and raise Adora. Cat had no such parental figure. If the roles had been reversed Adora would have probably ended up in jail too, and the thought shocked her. 

There was a silence that dragged on between them and then- 

“I’ll see you around, Adora.” 

Adora couldn’t watch Cat leave out of the hospital room. It hurt her too much. Instead, she stared at the TV she couldn’t turn off and tried not to cry for the first time since she awoke. 

~~

Four weeks passed with Adora in the hospital, battling (what seemed like for her life), trying to gain the use of her arms and legs back as much as she could. Every day it felt like more of a losing battle as people had to feed her, bathe her, and put on her clothes for her. Adora still had a fighting spirit, right up until Dr. Hope walked into her hospital room with a magazine and a straw. 

“Hello, Adora,” She said kindly. 

The two had gotten very familiar since Adora arrived. She’s felt up and down almost every part of Adora there was to feel to check for any sign of connection and there was none. That day in particular was one where Adora had several physical therapy sessions, all of which she had done poorly on. 

Adora was sitting next to Glimmer, who was playing cards for the both of them and absentmindedly trying to eat one of Adora’s puddings. They had a lot of pudding in the hospital- just like a lot of bland food tended to be. 

“Hello Doctor,” Adora said casually, a little sad at most. “Care to join us for a game of War? I’m losing, apparently.” 

“War is best won with two people,” Dr. Hope remarked. “I actually came in to see if your mother was with you today.” 

“Mom’s getting the blueprints for her project together before her proposal,” Glimmer said sweetly, taking another hand of cards into her giant stack. “She said she would be coming over after.” 

“Do you have a rough estimate to when?” Dr. Hope inquired, looking at her watch. 

“Sometime around 6 or so.” 

Dr. Hope nodded at this new information and sighed. She closed the door to Adora’s room with a soft  _ click _ and walked towards the bed. “Then I have to do this while it’s just the two of you. I’ll have to tell her over the phone later.” 

“What is it?” Adora said curiously, a nervous pang deep in her gut made her dread what was coming. 

“This is one of those things where I have to ask you if you’re okay with Glimmer being here,” Dr. Hope said seriously, looking between the two of them. 

For a moment Adora thought about having Glimmer leave- she didn’t want so much bad news being passed around, especially if it had to do with something doctor-related. Adora looked at Glimmer, who had put down the cards and looked at her patiently, and then back at the doctor. After a few seconds Adora swallowed her pride and nodded. “I’m fine with Glimmer being here.” 

“Adora, I’m going to tell this to your mother as well, but it’s important to tell you. From the last few weeks we’ve been monitoring your progress-”

“I know I haven’t been doing too good the last few sessions, Doctor, but I’m still trying-” 

“Adora, please,” she said exasperated, taking a few more steps to stand next to Adora’s bed. “This isn’t about your last few sessions. This is about all of them.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“What I mean is that nothing has changed. Not a single one of your sessions has proved to actually help your current status. You’re just not getting better.” 

Adora felt the color drain from her face as Glimmer shook her head. 

“That can’t be right,” she said, clutching the cards in her hands. “Maybe they haven’t been recording them  _ properly _ -” 

“I assure you both that all measures were taken to collect as raw of data as possible. Usually at this point we would see at least a modem of improvement- this means we would see a finger twitch, a leg move, anything, really, would be able to move at your own will after four weeks of recovery. None of these signs have presented themselves in you, Adora. This means that the hospital is required to take the next step.” 

“The next step?” Adora said, numbly. 

“You mean getting her out of here,” Glimmer said angrily. “Taking her home.” 

“Yes, it does,” Dr. Hope nodded and placed the magazine lightly on the bed-side table where the cards had been located. “This is a look at the catalog full of tech equipment for quadriplegics that are available. These tools allow you to move like everyone else- in a motorized scooter that you control.” 

“How would I control it?” Adora said nervously, looking as the doctor flipped around through the many contraptions. They all looked so complicated and bulky and pric-y. 

“With this,” She held up the straw in her hand and put it to Adora’s lips. “Many of these scooters use this straw technology where you blow and puff on a straw in order to control the movement. Some of them use other tech, but as your doctor it’s my duty to assess which one is perfect for each patient, and this one is yours. There are several models that are shipped overnight to the hospital once the order is placed.” 

Adora looked down at the straw and puffed on it a few times to practice. It was hard- she found she was light on breath a lot these days- but she could do it. Dr. Hope removed the straw and stepped back. 

“I leave at 5 o’clock today, so I am going to relay this information to the doctor who comes in after me, Dr. Razz, to tell your mother when she comes in. I am also going to give her a call and leave a message if she does not answer. Please go over the models with your mother so you can pick one out.” 

Adora nodded numbly and shared a look with Glimmer. It seems they didn’t have a choice. This was Adora’s only option. 

~~

Cat was walking down familiar streets. She walked this path a lot when she wanted personal time- which was to say all the time. This was different, though. Scopria was too much on any one occasion, but sometimes her opinions made sense and that made it worse for Cat. 

Watching TV was boring after so long. She was barely eating for reasons even she couldn’t understand. Scorpia, on the other hand, sat her down on the sofa and had a “real-time talk.” This was essentially Scopria speak for “let me be real with you chief” and put on a faux mom voice to give her life advice. 

“You need to go visit her,” Scorpia said without preamble. 

“Adora?” Cat said bitterly, raising an eyebrow. “Why would I visit her?” 

“It’s obvious that the two of you have unfinished business.” 

“All our business  _ is _ finished,” Cat said, turning her head away moodily. 

“Cat you’ve been moping around here for weeks. You don’t even ask me about how many dudes I’ve pommeled anymore.” 

“Have you pommeled many?” Cat tried in vain, not really interested. 

Scorpia gave her a look and a frown. “She said something that set you off- but this time it’s serious. What’s going on with you, Cat?” 

Cat was hesitant to answer, looking at the spot next to the TV and trying to ignore it. After a few minutes of patient waiting on Scopria’s part, Cat sighed. 

“She didn’t tell me to leave or anything,” Cat started. 

“Well that’s a good thing, right?” 

“I was the one to leave.” Cat replied quietly. 

“Oh.” 

“She said she wanted to, er,” Cat picked at her shirt uncomfortably. “She wanted to be friends again.” 

“And you hesitated?”

“I got angry with her.” 

“You guys have been through a lot together.” Scorpia reasoned. “Do you want to?”

“Be friends with her?” 

“Yeah.” 

Cat thought about it a moment. “I don’t know what I want to be with her. Friends feels wrong, though.” 

Scorpia’s face had a small smile building on it, but she seemed to think better and got a straight face for Cat. “Did you tell her you saved her?” 

“No, I didn’t.” Cat shook her head. 

“Why not? Maybe that would have helped somehow.” 

“She was talking about what happened when we were kids. It would have been hard to bring up,” Cat lied. The real answer was: it would mean her admitting she left Adora on the beach, all alone. That wouldn’t have got her back into Adora’s good graces- not that she wanted to, or anything. 

“So friends feels wrong but savior feels wrong too,” Scorpia gathered. 

“I didn’t like seeing her like that.” Cat said this with a shudder. “She barely moved.” 

“It’s been a good few weeks since then,” Scorpia said thoughtfully. “I’m sure she’s doing a little better now. You should talk to her again.” 

“I’m not sure if she would want to talk to me.” 

“I think you should try anyway. At the very least she isn’t going anywhere.” 

Thirty minutes later had Cat walking towards the hospital, hands in her pockets. On the way there she passed by Adora’s house, all three stories and magnificent lawns. There was a van in the driveway and people at the back of it, unloading something. 

With a closer look Cat realized that something was  _ Adora _ . She was in this tall bulky machine with wheels and something attached to her mouth. Two women unloaded her chair from the trunk and stepped back from her. Cat placed herself near a telephone pole so as not to be seen and waited, watching what was happening. 

Adora’s head leaned forward and put her mouth on this straw-like thing in front of her and suddenly the chair was moving down the sidewalk towards the front door. She was  _ moving _ . By herself. She could move. Cat didn’t do anything but stare at Adora while she went into the house, wondering what the next move was going to be now that the other girl was no longer encumbered by tubes. 

~~

Going back home was hard. It wasn’t like Adora liked the hospital- on the contrary, the late night vital checks, the rough sheets and lack of privacy really drained her, but going home was worse. Her bedroom had been upstairs in the attic- she had her own space up there that she called home. A nice bed with minimal knick knacks and white curtains over the tiny windows. When she moved up there it was the first singular bedroom that she had ever had. 

Coming home with Quadriplegia made it difficult for a number of reasons. 

The first of these being that she could no longer go upstairs. “I’m going to see about putting in a wheelchair assist,” her mom said. 

The second of these being that there was only a half bathroom downstairs- the only shower was upstairs on the second floor. “We can renovate that easily!” Glimmer had said. 

The third of these being that she needed a special van to get her places that weren’t within walking distance. She couldn’t just take her Mom’s Nissan to the local hangout spot without needing to be strapped to the top of it. She needed to be carted places, like when they dropped her off at home in a large white van for everyone in the neighborhood to see her new disability. 

The fourth and final difficult reason was that Adora didn’t really have her own space. She couldn’t control anything, and it made her more angry than she had ever expected. She couldn’t open doors, she couldn’t make meals, she couldn’t even feed herself or put on her jacket if she was cold (somehow it smelled like Cat. Like she had put it on or something. Adora couldn’t help but keep wearing it.) 

When Adora got home she had to take her time with the controls on her motorized wheelchair. She had used it a considerable amount in the hospital, but on sidewalks and dirt is a different ballpark entirely. Once she got inside the house and Glimmer and her mother dropped her bag over by the stairs, they went to Angella’s study to clear some space. That was supposed to become Adora’s new bedroom, which sucked because of the huge desk that sat in the middle of the room. 

“The movers are going to be here in an hour. I didn’t expect them to discharge you so soon-” Adora’s mother said hastily, shifting a chair and a table to the side so Adora could move around some. 

“Mom it’s fine. I was going to go for a walk anyway.” Adora said, looking up and down at the jam-packed room. It wasn’t often that she went into Angella’s office- usually it was a sacred space filled with anxiety and work. Once in a blue moon the girls would need to print something out for school, but most of the time they avoided it. Not anymore. Now it was Adora’s first floor en suite.

“A ‘walk’?” Her mother replied, raising a concerned eyebrow. “You just got home-”

“You also can’t walk-” Glimmer pointed out. 

“That’s absolutely what I meant, Glimmer.” Adora replied sarcastically with a serious tone. Angella’s face dropped in a ‘oh really’ as she looked between the pair of them. “I’m going to stand right now and go for a quick jog.” 

“Can you swing by the store and buy me a juice?” Glimmer replied humorously. “I’ve been craving some apple juice for a while now.” 

“Fun and games aside, Mom, I mean like… me using the chair to take myself around the block. I’ll be fine.”

“But Adora, what if you get hurt-?” Adora’s mom said, wringing her hands. 

Adora sighed a little angrily despite how much patience her mom has showed her these past few weeks. 

“I just need this, okay? I need this.” 

Her mom stilled for a moment thinking this over and then nodded, giving the official Morrigan seal of approval. She went over to moving furniture out of the way, trying to make a path for Adora’s knew bed that was coming in a bit later. It was a fancy one that leaned up like the hospital bed- specially recommended to them by Dr. Razz, the crazy night-shift doctor. 

Glimmer went to help Adora get out of the front door so nothing hit her sister on the way out. The sun shined bright in Adora’s eyes and as she adjusted she swore she saw a shadow move somewhere across the street. A few blinks had her looking at her neighbor’s bright homes- her favorite was the small house with the katana in the window. It always had a certain pride about it that made her feel welcome. 

Adora stopped briefly before going down the driveway, looking over at Glimmer. “Apologize for me, sis?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Glimmer grinned. “We’re just worried about you, ya’ know? We’re glad to have you home.” 

“I’m glad to  _ be _ home. I just need a few minutes. I’ll be back before the movers come.” 

“Text us if you need anything. You know how to use your new system right?” Glimmer held up her phone and stuck out a hip. 

“I got it. I’ll be fine.” Adora confirmed, and made her way down the sidewalk. 

She watched as the world went by as she moved the cart with her puffs of air. It was summer, so the air was nice and warm and the bugs were humming with life. A butterfly sat itself on the arm of her chair for a minute and flew away before she had time to really gaze at it’s beauty. 

After about a block, Adora stopped her cart. 

“You can come out, you know.” 

For a second she thought she was wrong, but she was proved right by the appearance of Cat walking into her field of vision. The other girl had a dark blue v-neck and tight, ripped jeans. Her hair was wild, as always, but she looked disheveled, like she hadn’t been sleeping all too well. 

“You look like shit,” Adora commented dryly. 

“So do you,” Cat cut back. 

“Care to join me?” 

“Where are you going?” Cat asked questioningly. “Didn’t you just get home?” 

“I can’t stand them hovering over me so much. I have to get used to it.” 

“It’s the foster homes,” Cat said automatically. “You get used to being on your own.” 

“Or only having one other person to rely on,” Adora agreed. She puffed the wheelchair to keep moving without waiting to see what Cat would do. 

Cat, of course, followed, and a few seconds of silence drifted between them. 

“I never thought that, you know.” 

Cat looked over at her, confused and surprised. “Never thought what?”

“The last time we talked, I told you that the court didn’t believe you had a future.” 

“Yeah, I know,” Cat said bitterly, looking away. Adora noted that she had to slow herself to keep up with the motorized wheelchair. Well, there goes all those days of Adora being faster than her. Adora mused to herself. 

“I never thought that you didn’t have a future. I always knew that you did.” 

“That’s so kind of you,” Cat simpered. “You believed I had a future while everyone else didn’t.” 

“I never wanted to be awarded for it. I just wanted you to know.” Adora commented lightly. She puffed her chair to move to the left so they could maneuver down a different set of streets. “Did you?” 

“Did I what?” Cat said irritably. 

“Did you think you had a future?” 

The question made Cat pause, so much so that Adora saw her run to catch up with the chair as it left without her. 

“No, I guess I didn’t.” 

“I always thought that mine would have you in it.” Adora said this casually and sincerely. She wasn’t as sure of anything in her life. 

“It could… if you want it to.” Cat replied back after a few minutes, almost hesitantly.

“You know for someone with such sharp edges you get really soft,” Adora commented playfully. 

“Who are you calling soft?!” Cat said kicking a rock towards the asphalt. “You’re the one who used to suck her thumb!” 

“Cat it has literally been like 9 years since I’ve done that.” 

“I have all your receipts stored right here,” Cat said, tapping her forehead. “Try me.” 

This made Adora laugh and hard. A genuine smile split her features and her very soul felt lighter somehow. This felt good- it felt  _ right _ . Cat chuckled a little too as she watched Adora fight for air and then sobered up quickly as something crossed her face. Once Adora calmed down, Cat got in front of the chair and held up her hands. 

“Adora I need to tell you something.” 

Adora puffed on the chair to stop, looking at Cat nervously. “What?” 

“I was the one who saved you.” 

“What do you mean?” It was obvious that this was a lot for Cat to say, since she swallowed hard. There was a bead of sweat that made its way down her forehead down towards her shirt, lining her collarbone. Adora tried not to stare but it didn’t work. She blinked and looked at Cat in the eyes. 

“When you dove over the cliff, I had walked behind you to make sure you were okay. I saw you hit a log right when you hit the water.” 

Adora felt her skin go pale everytime she thought about it. The dive. The darkness. Waking up to Glimmer’s face. Her heart beat faster in her chest. 

“I dived in after you and swam you to shore. You looked… so bad,” Cat said miserably. 

“Why are you telling me this?” 

“It’s like you said. I need you to know,” Cat reasoned. “It’s been eating me up for weeks. I called for help as soon as I could, but I had to get out of there or they would have locked me up for  _ sure _ , Adora.” 

“So you saved me,” Adora said slowly. 

“Yes,” Cat said, shifting her stance and looking away. “I did.” 

“Thank you.” Adora said sincerely.

“What?” Cat was so taken aback she literally jolted. 

“I said ‘Thank you’,” Adora replied. “What did you expect?” 

“I’m not sure,” Cat thought for a second and frowned. 

There was another long pause between them as they both were deep in their own thoughts. A shout and a cheer came from their right and the girls looked over in surprise. Two young girls, one with dark hair one with light, were playing soccer. The light haired girl scored while the dark haired one kicked the dirt at her feet. For a moment Adora hung in limbo staring at them- and then all at once she finally found the urge to cry. 

“Adora?” Cat asked, looking over at her. “Adora, I, er-” 

Adora puffed on her scooter which turned over to the left to face Cat. 

“Cat I’ve been in love with you since the 7th grade.” Adora said this simply and quickly. Leaving no room for hesitation. “I thought that I hated you- especially with all of our fights- but I didn’t. I don’t. I can’t live my life any longer without saying that. I’ve already survived one deadly encounter and I can’t go through another one without knowing I was fully honest. I’m one accident away from not being here at all, and if it wasn’t for you-” 

The dark haired girl on the field stomped angrily towards the light haired girl as if she was going to yell about the goal. 

“Adora-” 

The dark haired girl tripped and went face first into the grass. The light haired girl ran forward to help her up. 

“No, Cat, you need to know. You need to know that I’m grateful and that I know none of this can change our past, or you going to juvie, or that horrible group home where we first met, but I need you to know that I care about you, and I always have, and even though I’m the one in the scooter I will always be there for you, and I’m tired of all of our fights-” 

But Adora couldn’t speak anymore, because right at that minute she felt Cat grab her face and pull her into a kiss. Cat’s hands were warm and her lips were soft and Adora couldn’t stop thinking about how much she yearned to grab Cat’s face too. The kiss lasted an eternity, but when they finally broke apart, Adora was gasping for air. 

The light haired girl picked up the dark haired girl and hugged her tightly. The dark haired girl returned the hug.

“Are you okay? Fuck-” Cat said, holding her hands out towards Adora in panic. 

“I’m fine,” Adora grinned for a second and dropped it, looking at Cat. “What was that for?” 

“You wouldn’t shut up. You always talk too much,” Cat replied. “You weren’t letting me speak.” 

“You- you have something to say?” Adora said, flushed. Her lips still buzzed from the kiss and her nerve endings felt like they were on fire. 

“I care about you too,” Cat remarked quietly. “I’ve always cared about you, Adora. It was us against the world.” 

Adora’s heart sank in her chest. “Was? You don’t feel the same?” 

“I’m saying that I do. Even when you got a new family- you were always mine.” 

At this point Adora saw tears dripping down Cat’s eyes. It was strange- Adora rarely saw her cry about anything unless it mattered a lot. The only time that came to Adora’s mind was when they were kicked out of their group home, and were shoved out onto the streets. This meant that Cat’s tears had to be real- she had to be really feeling everything she said she was. 

The two girls that were playing soccer left the field, holding hands, leaving the ball on the grass. 

“Would you like to come to my house?” Adora asked suddenly. 

“What about Glimmer?” Cat said a little nervously. “Won’t she be upset?” 

“You have said some pretty nasty things to her,” Adora commented. “But I think I might be able to sway her.” 

And with that Adora puffed her way home, Cat walking beside her, the two of them talking like they had never done before. 

Sometimes in life you are helped-like Glimmer and Angella and their protective nature. Sometimes you are helping- like saving the ones you love. Sometimes life is a give and take- an endless teetering scale that passes back and forth. She has a pretty good mix, Adora thought to herself, and she will survive. 

~~

**EPILOGUE**

The school year was starting tomorrow.You would think a teenager of Adora’s caliber would be looking forward to the new school year, but Adora dreaded it like never before. Being a new Quadriplegic does that to a person.

“I won’t be on the soccer team anymore,” Adora sulked. It was a Sunday night and the air was still warm out. Cat, Glimmer, Bow, and Adora were sitting at a table outside of an ice cream parlor. One last fun night before the new school year, seeing all the friends they had missed, and piles of papers that needed doing. Glimmer had her legs on top of Bow’s casually, sitting back and eating her vanilla ice cream sundae with pleasure. 

“I wonder if you could compete in the Special Olympics,” Glimmer mused. 

Bow was leaning forward and licking a small chocolate ice cream cone with a concentrated look on his face. “I don’t think there’d be anything she could compete in with a wheelchair and no hands.” 

“Hit him for me please,” Adora looked at Cat hopefully, who obliged, smacking Bow on the arm, hard. 

“Hey!” Bow shouted out, rubbing his arm. “Why do you have to hit so hard?” 

Cat shrugged with a grin.

“It’s the Special Olympics. Wheel chairs aren’t discouraged,” Adora thought carefully. “Besides Cat could always just be my hands for me.” 

“Of course,” Cat said. She was sitting next to Adora, one hand with a strawberry ice cream (that they were sharing as Cat fed Adora) the other hand in hers. “I’ll do all the heavy lifting and then we take home the gold.” 

“How is it you’re more focused on soccer than you are, like, being worried about Math?” Glimmer pouted. “Now  _ that _ is something to fear.” 

“The school is giving me a scribe, so I don’t really need to write or do anything.” Adora said, rolling her eyes. “I just miss being physical.” 

“You’re still going to therapy,” Bow reasoned. “Your limbs move during that.” 

“More than anything she just wants to full out sprint,” Cat said thoughtfully, giving the cone a few licks. 

“I would  _ kill _ to sprint!” Adora agreed, leaning her head back. “I’ll get there.” 

“We’ll be here for you when you do,” Glimmer said with a smile. 

“Yeah, of course we wil-” 

Bow was interrupted as Glimmer flicked her spoon accidentally and covered him in vanilla ice cream. “Glimmer!” 

Adora and Cat laughed as Bow tried to smear it onto her again. Just then a phone notification lit up Glimmer’s phone. Glimmer looked down at it without much interest. 

“Oh yeah, did you ever get those tickets?” Adora inquired. “To the show you wanted?” 

“Oh,” Glimmer said, looking away. “About that.” 

“What?” Adora said slowly. You didn’t get it?” 

“It turns out they were giving out  _ multiple _ sets of tickets to winners.  _ Unfortunately _ , I, uh-” 

“There were 5 sets of winners and 5 of her emails got them.” Bow said simply. 

“So you got them!” Adora said excitedly. 

“Uh, yeah, no.” Glimmer said mildly. “They realized I cheated when I went to put my information in and they disqualified me.” 

“What?!” Adora said, surprised.

“What they don’t know,” Glimmer said, a grin spreading on her face. “Is that one of my other emails received another invite when they redid it.” 

“So-?” Adora said, but Bow cut her off. 

“So  _ I _ have four tickets to Sparkle Sparkle Sunshine.” Bow said, miserably. “Even though I think they should go to someone else because you cheated-” 

Glimmer kicked him in the knee and Adora and Cat laughed at the pair of them. 

Maybe, Adora thought to herself looking at her friends, the school year wouldn’t be so bad. 

**_The End_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to leave Kudos, a Comment, and to check out my other works! You can also check me out on Tumblr (Cr-yellow)! Love y'all! ~Cryellow <3
> 
> And thanks WombatKing for your amazing Idea. You really inspired the crap out of me.


End file.
